Non-Aggression Principle

The Non-Aggression Principle, sometimes referred to as ahimsa, is in its modern conception the idea that each person has the right to make their own choices in life so long as those choices do not involve the initiation of force or fraud against others.

Antecedents to the Non-Aggression Principle can be found in the writings of historical figures including Frederic Bastiat and Thomas Jefferson and going as far back as the legendary Chinese sage Lao Tzu. It is the key foundational principle of the political philosophy of libertarianism.